The Sin of Complaining
Daily Old Testament Reading: Numbers 9-11
Daily Focus Passage: Numbers 11
The art of complaining is not truly an art. Instead, the act of complaining is nothing more than an act of sin. In the book of Numbers, the children of Israel come across as ungrateful, spoiled people as they complain about their situation. They reject the provision of the Lord and do not rest in the sense of contentment found in the goodness of the Lord. Numbers 11 challenges us today to test and evaluate ourselves to see if we are living content or guilty of constant complaining.
COMPLAINING ABOUT HARDSHIP
The people of Israel complained about the difficult journey they were traveling. They longed to return to the place of slavery instead of trusting in the Lord. The complaint extended from an ungrateful heart. Their heart rejected satisfaction in their current dynamics. They had pleaded with the Lord for freedom, and now they complain about the situation concerning their deliverance. They complained because following the Lord was costly if they were to reach the Promised Land.
At the same time, the people complained because they held an untrusting faith in the Lord. They would acknowledge the Lord with their lips and carry out various sacrifices, but the people struggled to trust that the Lord would lead them and provide for them on the journey. The complaining nature of the people centered on a self-focus that sought to complain because the Lord acted according to his ways and not the ways of humanity.
As a follower of Christ, we travel a journey of obedience following the Lord's leading. Jesus declared that the road of faith was narrow and difficult. The characteristic of following Jesus indicates that without an intentional focus to follow the Lord, we can easily become complainers about the dynamics around us. We may not like the path we have been led to travel. We may look to the past or what others have and desire those realities instead of the path the Lord has guided us. When these temptations appear, and we fall prey to them, we begin to slip into the sin of complaining.
COMPLAINING ABOUT PREFERENCES
The pride and selfishness of life exist as other temptations that may lead to the moment of complaining. When this form of complaining occurs, people demonstrate a sense of ungratefulness. In Israel's case, the people complained because of an ungrateful heart for all the Lord had done, was doing, and promised to do. They rejected the provision of the Lord because they lived with an ungrateful attitude about what he had provided them. Thus, the people lived unsatisfied because their interpretation of satisfaction flowed from the flesh.
The people of Israel wanted more. They wanted a more straightforward path and wanted to have some of the earthly prosperity found in other places. When the people wanted more, they declared with the intent that they were not satisfied with the things and provision of the Lord. The people wanted the Lord plus something else to find meaning and satisfaction instead of resting in the Lord alone.
Followers today battle the same temptations. Often our complaints come because our desires and preferences are not being met. We complain about how others carry out ministry and how we would do it instead. We must battle the sin of this complaint and find our satisfaction in the Lord. We must celebrate others when the Lord uses them and not attempt to lessen the work because of our opinion as we consider our lives; where do we need to seek forgiveness from the sin of complaint and seek to live satisfied in the presence of the Lord.
